Chris Townson (24 July 1947 – 10 February 2008) was an English musician, illustrator and social worker. He was a founding member of the 1960s rock group

John's Children John's Children were a 1960s Mod (subculture), mod rock band from Leatherhead, England that briefly featured future T. Rex (band), T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan. John's Children were known for their outrageous live performances and were booted off ...

, and a member of several other bands, including Jook, Jet and

Radio Stars Radio Stars were an English new wave group formed in early 1977. They released two albums and had one UK Top 40 single. Career Radio Stars were formed by Sparks exile Martin Gordon (bass, songwriter) and also included ex-John's Children v ...

. He replaced

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

's Keith Moon on drums on a 1967 UK tour after Moon had injured himself, and he jammed with Jimi Hendrix at the Speakeasy rock club in London. Later in his life Townson quit the music business and became an illustrator and a highly respected social worker.

Biography

Chris Townson was born in Battersea, London on 24 July 1947. He was abandoned by his parents at the age of four, and spent his early childhood in

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

. In 1958, after passing the

entrance exam In education, an entrance examination or admission examination is an examination that educational institutions conduct to select prospective students. It may be held at any stage of education, from primary to tertiary, even though it is typicall ...

, the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

sent Townson to the Stoatley Rough School in Haslemere, Surrey, where he was resident for two years. In the early 1960s, Townson attended

Box Hill School Box Hill School is an independent coeducational boarding and day school situated in the village of Mickleham near Dorking, Surrey, England. The school has approximately 425 pupils aged 11–18. 70 percent of students are day students whilst th ...

, also in Surrey, and there he met

Andy Ellison Andrew Ellison (born 5 July 1945 in Finchley, London, England) is an English musician and vocalist, best known as the frontman in John's Children, Jet and Radio Stars. He attended Box Hill School in Surrey, where he met Chris Townson. Joh ...

. Notwithstanding the Beatlemania that was sweeping the country at the time, Townson and Ellison were more interested in the

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

sound of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...

and

. When Townson saw The Who perform, he said in a magazine interview some years later, "that was it, it was this that I wanted to do!" In 1965 Townson and Ellison formed a band called the Clockwork Onions, which later became The Few, and then The Silence. The band was Townson (drums), Ellison (vocals), Geoff McClelland (guitar) and John Hewlett (bass guitar). Townson invited The Yardbirds' manager

Simon Napier-Bell Simon Robert Napier-Bell (born 22 April 1939) is an English record producer, music manager, author and journalist. At different times, he has managed artists as diverse as the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Ultravox, Bon ...

to see The Silence perform, and while Napier-Bell thought they were "dreadful", he was impressed by their antics and agreed to manage them. He changed the group's name to

and said they should make their act "as outrageous as possible" to attract the attention of the press. The band was named after their bass player because he played so badly and Napier-Bell wanted to be sure the band would not fire him. In March 1967

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted in ...

joined John's Children and Napier-Bell signed them with

Track Records Track Record (a.k.a. Track Records) was founded in 1966 in London by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of the rock group The Who. It was one of the first British-owned independent record labels in the United Kingdom. The most succe ...

, which included artists like The Who and

The Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

. John's Children released several singles, including "

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...

", which was banned by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Biography

References